The Hare and the Stag
by Dinorider15
Summary: To most people rain is a nuisance, something to avoid and detest. As with most thing's in his life, Harry wasn't most people. Perhaps unsurprisingly, neither was Luna.


Did you miss me? Well, I'm back with a new ship in my roster, Harry and Luna. I know I'm a good few years behind as per usual but hey, since when has that stopped me before. I haven't written anything in a good while so do not expect this to be excellent by any means but I will try my best. Without further adieu let us begin.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.

* * *

"If you spend less time looking out the window, Mr Potter, the sooner you and I can both leave"

Harry let out a sigh. He had spent the last half hour in detention with Professor Snape after he had failed to hand in the last three homework assignments. He knew Snape was fully aware of everything he was going through yet he continued to unfairly treat him as harshly as he saw fit. As it happened, that was normally with a weekly detention.

Despite his complaint's he knew Snape was right. He went back to his work silently and Snape's gaze returned once more to his desk.

Outside rain struck the windows rhythmically. A soothing melody; it almost made Harry want to fall asleep. If it wasn't for the sound of thunder echoing away from somewhere far off he probably would have. The light was dim, only just bright enough to be able to see his work clearly enough to write. The gentle glow was of course accompanied by the stark flash of lightning filling the room on occasion.

As Harry moved on to the next line he noticed the inkwell was running dry. "Professor Snape, I think I've run out of ink" he explained timidly.

Snape raised his head to look at the boy, a look of disinterest plastered across his face. "And I suppose you wish for me to fetch you some more" he said with disdain.

"Yes, sir."

Snape let out a displeased sigh before sifting through a cabinet behind him. He turned around and gave Harry a look that said _do not lift a finger_ before exiting the room in search of some more ink.

Harry leant his chin against his hand and let out a huff. He wondered what Ron and Hermione were up to at the moment. Hermione was studying no doubt, there was little debate there. Ron, on the other hand, would most likely be playing wizards chess with Neville or perhaps Seamus. He couldn't say he didn't envy them. Even Hermione had the fortune of not having Snape watching over her as she worked. Still he thought-

"Harry!"

His thoughts were suddenly fractured by a voice calling his name. He jumped backwards fumbling for his wand clumsily as he tried to get a hold on the situation. Before him stood a girl wrapped in an invisibility cloak, only her head and sandy blonde hair poking through.

"Luna?" Harry asked in bewilderment as he put away his wand.

"Sorry if I frightened you, but I didn't want to get caught" she explained in a hushed tone "I need your help."

"What? Why? I'm sort of in detention- " before Harry could finish Luna had pulled him under her invisibility cloak, raising her finger to her mouth to indicate that he should be quiet. He closed his mouth. Together they made their way out of the castle passing by Snape who was on his way back to Harry's detention. _'Great now I'm gonna get in even more trouble'_ he thought but stayed silent.

It wasn't until they were outside the school that Luna removed the cloak.

"We can speak now. People don't really come out here at night" she looked at the downpour around them "Especially when it's like this."

"Are you going to explain to me what's going on now, Luna?" Harry asked slightly frustrated that he was risking escaping from detention.

She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment "I'm not sure you'd understand. Don't worry, you'll see."

Harry looked at her perplexed to which she smiled gently and started walking towards the lake with the boy who lived close behind.

"Where did you get the invisibility cloak?" he wondered aloud pointing at the cloak that she was now putting away in her bag.

"I charmed it myself. It's awfully useful you know" she told him. _'You don't have to tell me'_ Harry thought. "It won't last very long but hopefully it will get through the night."

The clouds struck the ground with a flash shortly followed by thunder. It seemed further away this time, a fact that seemed to cause Luna to frown ever so slightly. However slight it may be, it did not go undetected by Harry.

"What?" he asked struggling to read her face in the darkness.

"We don't have very long. Come on" she said gesturing for Harry to keep up with her as she sped up. She didn't seem at all fazed by the bad weather. It was as if it was but a light breeze rather than the heavy rain that Harry felt on his shoulders. Thinking about it Harry supposed it didn't really bother him either. It helped to drown out the noise of the world and focus on what was in front of him. Something like that was priceless to a boy with a life as hectic as his.

They made it to the water's edge beside a lonely ash tree. Harry looked at Luna expectantly who then looked upwards to the clouds.

"We need to cast _lumos maxima_ towards the sky together" she told him drawing her wand, Harry repeating her actions "On the count of three. One… two… three!"

An incredible white light appeared from the tip of Harry's wand before he propelled it towards the clouds. His light seemed to merge with Luna's to form one brilliant flash. To the untrained eye, it could have easily been mistaken as another bolt of lightning in the blackness of the night.

"What-"

"Wait."

His mouth swung shut and his gaze fixed itself to the clouds. Nothing seemed to change and Harry was about to ask Luna what they were waiting for before he got his answer. First was the faint sound of a whinny ringing through the air. Then from the clouds emerged several horse-like creatures crying out into the night. Like thestrals, they supported a set of wings on their backs which allowed them to sail through the air with ease. However, they were unlike thestrals in that these creatures did not have the same withered, skeletal appearance. They were instead covered in a layer of jet black fur with a similarly dark mane. Yet this was certainly not their most striking feature. That award went to the sparks that danced around their body, seemingly leaving the animal untouched. Behind them they left a trail of electricity that marked the sky temporarily before slowly fading.

"Incredible aren't they" spoke Luna for the first time in a few minutes, a smile playing on her lips.

Harry was snapped out of his stupor, watching the beasts in awe "Yeah… what are they?"

"They're called fulgorum. You don't see them often except in storms like this. They can mistake a strong light charm for lightning and it draws them a bit closer" she explained looking at Harry with a serene smile. He couldn't help but grin in return. Luna brought her eyes back to the creatures flying above them but Harry kept his eyes locked on the girl. This wasn't how he had expected to spend the evening, by the lakeside in the rain with Luna Lovegood watching horses of the storm glide across the clouds. But looking at her now he wouldn't have had it any other way. It certainly beat spending it with Snape in detention.

"Thank you for coming. I know I didn't give you much of a choice but a storm like this doesn't come around very often and I didn't want to waste time" she told him quietly.

"It's a good thing I did. You needed my help after all and I wouldn't have wanted you to miss this" he told her honestly. For some reason, this seemed to cause Luna's content demeanour to falter, something that did not go unnoticed by Harry. "What's wrong?" he asked concern evident in his voice.

"That's not why I asked you to come" she began looking ashamed "You definitely helped but my charm was probably enough alone to entice the fulgorum in."

"Then why did you bring me?" he asked confused.

She looked away from him "Fulgorum are lonely creatures, Harry. It's only in storms like this that they come together" she said softly "Even the loneliest seek company sometimes. Maybe more than most."

It wasn't difficult for him to figure out what she meant. He found himself reaching for her hand, causing her to face him "You have friends, Luna. Neville, Hermione, Ron, Ginny… me. We're all here" Harry assured her.

Her lips curved upwards "You've always been kind to me, Harry. I'm glad that it's you here with me" she confessed earnestly.

"So am I" he replied. It was calming being around Luna. She didn't treat him as the boy who lived or as the chosen one. The only thing she expected him to be was Harry and that was someone he didn't mind being. To his surprise, the distance between them seemed to be shortening. All of a sudden time slowed down as Harry's mind started to blur. What was he doing? He could feel his inhibitions dropping one by one with every passing second.

"Wrackspurts…" murmured Luna before she closed the gap between them. Immediately Harry found himself returning the kiss without a second thought. Thunder reverberated through the night, the fulgorum neighing excitedly in response. Luna and Harry could not have cared less for they were far too absorbed in each other to notice a thing going on in the world around them.

Then it was over, the pressure on his lips gone. He opened his eyes hesitantly to see Luna beaming at him, her silver eyes twinkling in the moonlight. Harry squeezed her hand gently and returned her giddy smile.

They stayed sitting underneath the ash tree in a comfortable silence watching the fulgorum gallop around the light they had cast. The light they had cast was starting to die, the light it emitted growing weaker and weaker. As the last glimmer of light disappeared only the faint outline of the beasts was discernible. The pair watched as the horse-like animals dashed off into the storm. One last call could be heard before it was drowned out by the heavy pitter patter of the rain against the lake.

"Luna?"

"Yes?"

"You think you'll need help again any time soon?" Harry asked shyly.

She smiled "I think so."

* * *

Snape walked back to his classroom, a full pot of ink in hand. He calmly opened the door to find the room completely vacant. _'What did I expect from a Potter'_ he thought bitterly. No matter, all it meant was an even greater punishment for the boy. Awhile later he heard the faint sound of humming from the corridor. Frowning, he stood up and opened the door to see a girl skipping along with a wide grin on her face.

"And why, might I ask, are you out at this time of night Ms Lovegood" asked Snape in his typically condescending manner.

"To see the fulgorum" she answered simply.

He raised an eyebrow but she didn't share any more details "I expect to see you for detention tomorrow afternoon, no excuses."

"Okay" she chirped unfazed.

Her reaction left him utterly confounded "I suggest you make your way back to the Ravenclaw common room. Unless you would like to be disciplined more severely."

"Thank you, sir" she said before continuing her cheerful stride through the halls.

Snape shook his head in disbelief. What did she have to be so chipper about?

* * *

And there we are. I'm actually quite happy with this one. No promises that I'm gonna write anything else, you will have to wait and see. Big shout out to my friend Ana for beta reading this, really appreciate it :). Also just FYI I made up fulgorum, they are not canon.

Good day.


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